Genre Histories

Exciter on stage at Party.San in 2018

Exciter's "Heavy Metal Maniac": Canada's Claim to First

Declan Rourke · Apr 7, 2026

Gerre of Tankard singing at the Rock Hard Festival in 2016

The Weirdest Moments in Thrash History

Declan Rourke · Apr 7, 2026

Diamond Head in a 1980 band portrait

Diamond Head, "Am I Evil?" and the Riff Metallica Built a Career On

Declan Rourke · Apr 2, 2026

Yngwie Malmsteen mid solo with his scalloped Stratocaster, one finger raised to the crowd, his name lit on the screen behind him

Hall of the Mountain King: When Savatage Borrowed from Grieg

Julien Vasseur with Declan Rourke · Apr 1, 2026

James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett of Metallica on stage

Thrash Metal in Film and Television

Declan Rourke · Mar 31, 2026

Michael Schenker on stage with his black and white Flying V, one hand raised to the crowd, a wall of amplifiers behind him

Accept, Scorpions and the German Roots of Power Metal

Julien Vasseur with Declan Rourke · Mar 31, 2026

The five members of Crimson Glory against a corrugated metal wall, wearing the silver mouth masks the band has used since its first records

Transcendence and the High Point of US Power Metal

Julien Vasseur with Declan Rourke · Mar 29, 2026

John Gallagher of Raven on stage at the Cart and Horses in London, January 2026

NWOBHM Denim and Leather

Declan Rourke · Mar 29, 2026

ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons (right) and Elwood Francis perform live at OVO Arena Wembley, London, on 11 July 2024

Texas Heavy Metal

Declan Rourke · Mar 28, 2026

The five members of Judas Priest standing on the empty floor of a stadium in front of the stage, tour banners carrying the Painkiller sleeve art behind them

Painkiller and the Power Metal Question

Julien Vasseur with Declan Rourke · Mar 28, 2026

Jinx Dawson of Coven backstage at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, 1971

Occult Rock and the Occult in Metal Lyrics

Declan Rourke · Mar 27, 2026

The sleeves of Lights...Camera...Revolution! and Persistence of Time

Thrash Goes to the Arena: Clash of the Titans and Monsters of Rock

Declan Rourke · Mar 26, 2026

Corrosion of Conformity on stage together

Corrosion of Conformity's "Animosity"

Declan Rourke · Mar 26, 2026

The five members of Primal Fear sitting together on a black sofa in a red lit studio room Chapter 4

From the Grunge Years to the Charts: Power Metal Since 1990

Julien Vasseur · Mar 26, 2026

The five members of Jag Panzer in black leather, lit against a dark backdrop for a black and white studio portrait

Ample Destruction and the Sound of Early US Power Metal

Julien Vasseur with Declan Rourke · Mar 25, 2026

Dave Mustaine of Megadeth on stage in 1988

How the Mainstream Press Covered Thrash

Declan Rourke · Mar 24, 2026

Blue Oyster Cult posed in a black and white studio portrait during the 1970s

Martin Birch, the Producer Behind the Sound

Declan Rourke with Curtis Vance · Mar 24, 2026

Annihilator band members posing together around 1990

"Alice in Hell": Annihilator and the Technical Turn

Declan Rourke · Mar 24, 2026